Designing the perfect soothing routine for your children and you

What’s all this talk about designing the perfect soothing routine to help our children sleep?

Why is it so important?

What should I do?

Wait, I need one too?

These questions may all be crossing your mind as you think about creating a soothing routine to promote sleep for both you and your child.

In today’s post, I am launching Soothing Routine September at Bella Luna Sleep Consulting. I’ll kick off this month’s blog posts by answering the who, what, when, where, why and how of developing the perfect soothing routine! Throughout the month, I’ll be featuring guest bloggers who will share more about soothing routine elements, like:

Let’s get to answering the most popular soothing routine questions…

WHO needs a soothing bedtime routine?

Adults and children both benefit from a soothing bedtime routine.

WHY do we need a soothing bedtime routine?

For babies, a soothing routine is imperative because it helps to cue their bodies that bedtime is coming. The consistent set of activities done in the same order becomes a very welcomed, soothing way to help their bodies to switch from play to sleep.

For toddlers and preschoolers, the soothing routine is important because it gives them a chance to wind down from really active play and have connection time with parents or caregivers. Toddlers and preschoolers are known to love malarkey around bedtime, but if you have a really connecting, consistent soothing routine, it helps to make sleepy time really positive and helps to decrease the bedtime battles.

For school-age children and teenagers, a soothing bedtime routine helps them to switch their brains off, relax and to have some much-needed connection time with parents.

For adults, our brains need the chance to switch gears from the activity and thoughts of the day to prepare us to settle into slumber.

WHEN should I do the soothing bedtime routine?

For children and adults, about 30 minutes before bedtime is a good amount of time to dedicate to a soothing routine. For children who still nap, it is a good idea to allocate 5-15 minutes to a soothing routine before nap periods.

To determine an age appropriate bedtime for your children so they meet their sleep needs, check out this handy chart.

WHERE should I do the soothing routine?

Try to keep the soothing routine moving in the direction of the bedroom or nursery. All of the soothing activities should be moving you or your little one(s) towards their bed, crib or sleep space, not all over the house!

WHAT should the soothing routine include?

Chill Out

First off, shut down all screen time about one hour before children’s bedtimes and at least 30 minutes for teens and adults. Quiet the house and turn down lights.

Snack Time

For younger children and adolescents alike, they may benefit from a bedtime snack to ensure they have a little something in their stomachs to help them settle into sleep. Think protein and carbs, like crackers and cheese or nut/sun butter and banana.

For adults, a light snack of a protein and carb is also a good idea. A cup of sleepy time tea or warm milk is a good bedtime beverage, but avoid caffeine, alcohol and sugary drinks.

Brush Teeth

Enough said.

Wash the day away

Warm water is a great way to calm the body and get children and adults alike ready for bed.

For babies and children, a nice warm bath with a couple drops of lavender essential oil is a great way to relax. If you aren’t bathing your baby every day, a sponge bath and a rub down with some calming lotion is a good alternative for non-bath nights.

For teens and adults, a warm shower or bath is a great way to relax the body.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog post and giveaway on essential oils and sleep by essential oil expert, Brianne Squires!

Clean Pajamas

Change your baby or yourself into clean, natural fiber pajamas.

Book & Songs and Tuck In for Babies and Young Children

A great way to continue winding down and connecting is to read a book or two together. This is a great way to enhance your child’s learning and bond together. Children also enjoy being sung to or singing with you! Sing some of your favorite nursery rhymes together. Our favorites? You Are My Sunshine; Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; and Rock-a-bye Baby.

Tuck your little one in, hugs and kisses and a consistent sleepy time message.

Stay tuned later this month for a blog post and giveaway by Stephanie Brusseau of Usborne! She is going to give some tips on picking the best bedtime stories for your children.

Adult Soothing Elements

For adults to relax into bedtime, choose from one or more of the following soothing options:

Bedtime yoga

Meditation

Yoga Nidra guided meditation

Reading a book

Journaling or jotting down your thoughts to clear your mind

Listening to relaxing music, but ensuring that you turn it off before falling asleep

Cuddling with your significant other

HOW are you going to incorporate these suggestion into your routine?

Tell us on Facebook how you are going to change what you are currently doing based on these suggestions.

Show us a picture of one of your soothing routine elements on Instagram! Be sure to tag @bellalunasleep in your post!

Stay tuned for all of Soothing Routine September at Bella Luna Sleep Consulting for awesome giveaways!

About Christine Brown

Hi! I'm Christine, founder and a certified child sleep consultant at Bella Luna Sleep Consulting, based in Nashua, NH. My passion for sleep was born after the birth of my twin boys, Nicholas and Ryan, in 2014. The boys taught their Daddy, Jeff (aka Sleep Daddy), and me the true meaning of exhaustion, which fueled the desire to help families to be well rested. When Christine isn’t “helping the babies sleep”, she’s going on adventures with her family; doing laundry; or enjoying a delicious meal, prosecco and laughs with friends.

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